There is known a pedestrian airbag apparatus that provides an airbag inflated along the vicinity of a cowl of a vehicle body and allows it to receive a pedestrian or the like (pedestrian, bicycle rider, or the like). As a type of this pedestrian airbag apparatus, one is known that an airbag is accommodated in a case and, when inflated, the airbag extends along a vehicle body's outer surface so as to spread into the surroundings of the case.
In Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-299442, a pedestrian airbag apparatus is described that portions of an airbag spreading into the surroundings of a case when inflated to extend are connected to the case by means of tethers so as to suppress the fluttering of the portions when inflated to extend.
In the pedestrian airbag apparatus of the above publication, an airbag is a substantially U-shaped member having a cowl louver protection portion that is inflated to extend along a cowl louver of a vehicle body in a vehicle body widthwise direction, and pillar protection portions that are connected to both ends of the cowl louver protection portion and are inflated to extend along left and right A-pillars of the vehicle body, respectively.
The vicinity of the midpoint of the cowl louver protection portion in its extending direction is fixed to the case. The case has a width in the vehicle body widthwise direction smaller than that of the cowl louver protection portion, and, when the airbag is inflated, both end sides of the cowl louver protection portion in its extending direction and the pillar protection portions connected thereto each extend laterally so as to spread out from the case.
In the above publication, the both end sides of the cowl louver protection portion in its extending direction are each connected to the case by means of a tether and, when the airbag is inflated to extend, the fluttering of these portions is suppressed.
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-299442
In the above Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-299442, as shown in FIG. 10 of the publication, one end of each of the tethers is connected to the utmost tip portion of each of the both end sides of the cowl louver protection portion in its extending direction. Therefore, when the airbag is inflated to extend, as shown in FIG. 13 of the publication, the utmost tip portions of the both end sides of the cowl louver protection portion in its extending direction (namely, the both side end faces of the cowl louver protection portion in its extending direction in its inflated state) are pulled to the undersurface side of the airbag due to the tension of the respective tethers; therefore, on the both end sides of the cowl louver protection portion in its extending direction, a moment tends to arise that serves so as to wind each of the both end sides toward the undersurface side of the airbag. As a result, there is a risk that a deformation such as warpage, buckling, or the like would occur on the cowl louver protection portion.